When I was in second grade I moved for the 3rd time in my life. My family moved into a small blue house, which at the time needed a lot of renovating, in Wilmington, a town I had never heard of. Moving didn’t scare me at all, it was actually quite exciting for me. I loved meeting new people and going to new schools. The only thing that made this move difficult was getting rid of my dog Mandy. Mandy was a beagle/basset hound mix and was extremely stubborn to say the least. She barked and howled at everything and anything, she panicked during thunderstorms and had successfully utilized every room in our house as a bathroom. My dad was fed up to put it mildly. So he made an executive decision to get rid of her. Lucky for us my Uncle was willing to take Mandy off our hands and he said we could visit her at any time. Unlucky for us, my Uncle lived all the way out in California. So visiting Mandy would not only be expensive, but it would be very time consuming. Regardless, Mandy had a safe and loving home.

I have always been in love with dogs, so living without one presented quite a challenge. I had no one to cuddle with, no one to walk with, no one would jump and bark and greet me in a loving manner when I came home from school. There was definitely something missing with no dog in the house. And I was pretty positive my dad would never let us get another dog. But I was wrong. My parents had a trick up their sleeve neither me nor my sister were prepared for.

Christmas of 2005 rolled around unusually slowly. Anticipation of the holidays built up, making the days drag on. I wasn’t excited for the gifts necessarily, I never ask for anything for christmas. I like the holiday because my whole family gets together and I get to see the epitome of happiness displayed across their face when they open their gifts. This year my Uncle flew in from California early so he could spend Christmas with us. My Mum went to pick him up from the airport and when they pulled in the driveway, my sister and I waited with apprehension for him to come in. When he finally did come in he held a box in his hand. He set it down on the floor and said that it was an early christmas gift for the family. My sister and I fell to our knees with excitement, seldom did we get to open gifts so early. The top of the box got lifted off and at the bottom was a white and brown mass. My immediate thought was ‘why did he give us a pillow?’ but then in one swift motion a little bundle of joy leaped out and began bounding around the room. Her soft white paws hitting the floor with a thud and he collar and tags jingling with each step she took. Her eager body ran into our legs and jumped in our laps, quickly winning over our hearts.

We named our new puppy Chloe. But just like any other pet, she has dozens of nicknames. Seldom do I call Chloe by her real name. Chloe was small and feeble when we first got her. She was the runt of her litter at around 9lbs but had no trouble growing up into a healthy dog, she now weighs about 45lbs. She loves to run and we quickly learned she was an extremely fast runner. Being fast and obedient, we often let Chloe off the leash to run around the yard and she never goes into the street. She doesn’t chase balls, animals, or people past where the yard ends. Chloe is a huge part of my life. She has been with me through a lot. She goes into the city with me, goes on car rides with me, even when I’m just sitting on the porch, she is with me. Sometimes if I shut my bedroom door, she will sit outside. I invite her onto my bed but she doesn’t come up. She just stands guard in the doorway. When the bus passes our house, Chloe is sitting in the window, waiting for us to get off and walk down the street. Starting in 8th grade, I would go on runs with Chloe to condition for sports. She is able to do about 2 miles now without hesitating. She has always been a better runner than me.

It wasn’t until this past year I started noticing some white hairs growing around her eyes. I’ve noticed she don’t chase the ball as eagerly as she used to. When she was younger she could play fetch for what seemed like hours, but nowadays she gets tired much quicker. I try to run with her more often to keep her busy and happy. She is now about seven years old and I’m having trouble accepting that. She will always just be a little puppy to me.